Firework Display in Hyde Park: 1919

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Firework Display in Hyde Park. Oil on Canvas. The National Peace Celebrations were held in London on 19 July 1919 to mark the end of the First World War. A spectacular fireworks display took place at Constitution Arch in Hyde Park. On the evening of 19 July. About 10,000 rockets were fired. Charles Wyllie was commissioned to paint the scene by The Sphere, and this work was reproduced in the magazine on 26 July 1919. Wyllie may have viewed the scene from a balloon, hovering over the southwest corner of the Serpentine Bridge looking northeast towards Mayfair. On the extreme left, the word VICTORY appears in brightly burning letters in the area of Lancaster Gate.